The Ascent
by TheSaiyanDemonPrince
Summary: Yamcha is furious about Bulma's betrayal. He loses the plot and trains intensely. A new spin on Dragonball Z with the possibility of the Human chraracters ascending in a similar way to the Saiyans.
1. Chapter I: Breaking Point

**The Ascent**

Chapter I: _Breaking Point_

Yamcha had been training. Hard. Very Hard. He had long ago realised that of all of Earth's protectors, he was the most useless. Hell, f**king Chiaotzu made him look like a chump. He kept thinking back to the early days when Yamcha, Goku and Krillin had a competitive friendship. They all trained under Master Roshi, and, for a number of years, they were pretty much on par with one another (well, Goku was always a few steps ahead). In fact, it wasn't until around the time Yamcha was blown up by a midget fighting-cabbage that he realised his place. Nevertheless, whenever Yamcha was down, he just thought of Bulma. That had kept him going for awhile. Until the backstabbing bitch decided that it would be a lovely idea to settle down and have a family with a sadistic space-pirate; that is. The very same sadistic space-pirate that less than a year previously, had been responsible for the slaughtering of three of her friends and her boyfriend at the time. And yet somehow, he was more appealing than Yamcha. The sheer insanity of it had left Yamcha feeling numb for awhile. It wasn't until after Cell had been defeated that Yamcha had finally snapped.

Vegeta was an arrogant self-centred jerk, who cared about nothing but himself. He constantly whinged about having to keep up with Goku as if it were something that anyone should be able to do. What did he know? Yamcha had fallen behind Goku years ago, but he never complained about it. Yamcha had decided that he was going to win Bulma back. Not because she was worth it, but because he wanted to see Vegeta snivelling at his feet. He had gone to Dende's lookout and asked to use the time chamber. He had been training intensely for nearly two full years. His time in the chamber was up. Prior to entering the chamber, he was at least as strong as Goku was just before he turned into a Super Saiyan on Namek. This was Yamcha's driving force. Why should only Saiyans have the capacity to ascend? They shouldn't. That was the answer. Plain and simple. Yamcha had nearly killed himself trying to discover this new power. But to no avail. Beaten, battered, broken, he limped from his vast yet empty prison, back into the dimension in which he knew that he would have to face his demons.

"How did it go?" asked Dende. But after seeing the crushed look on the face of Yamcha, he knew better than to expect an answer.

"Nobody has ever been in there for that long before. Not even Goku. That was a brave thing you did."

Dende's words didn't even register in Yamcha's mind. Yamcha stepped of the lookout and hovered down to Korin's Tower.

"I need a sensu bean," Yamcha said simply.

"I can tell. Take this, it's the last one of the batch," said Korin as he tossed Yamcha the tiny green wonder food. Yamcha swallowed it and immediately felt his body repairing itself. His mind was still damaged though. He didn't think anything could mend it at this point. Suddenly, he felt a familiar power level closing in. He turned around to see Tien touch down beside him.

"I heard you decided to use the time chamber," said Tien.

"What's it to you?" replied Yamcha, bitterly. This surprised Tien. He had considered Yamcha a friend for years and they were always on good terms. He studied Yamcha more closely and saw that he looked older and tougher than he did the other day. But that wasn't what worried Tien. It was eyes. There was so much pain.

"You've been to hell and back, haven't you?"

"That's putting it lightly."

"You're still upset about Bulma, aren't you?"

"No, it's worse than that."

"How so?"

"I tried to ascend."

"What do you mean 'ascend'?"

"I mean transform. I thought, if Goku can become a Super Saiyan, why can't I be a Super Human?"

"How do you know you're not one?"

"What kind of question is that? I look the same."

"I came over here because I thought I felt a powerful evil energy. It turned out I had mistaken evil for pain and hardship. That said, you're a hundred times stronger than the Yamcha I knew."

That was all Yamcha needed.

"You're right. I do feel strong. Really strong. It's incredible."

Ideas started to form in Yamcha's damaged mind.

"That's a huge jump. I'm envious of your improvement," said Tien, enthusiastically.

But Yamcha wasn't listening. He powered up and blasted off into the sky at a speed that he didn't think he could ever achieve. He felt confident. He had been tormented by Bulma's betrayal for far too long. Vegeta was going down.


	2. Chapter II: White Rage

**The Ascent**

Chapter II: _White Rage_

Yamcha was blinded by arrogance. His newfound strength and speed had gone straight to his head. He wanted nothing more than to crush Vegeta's pride; to destroy his honour. He could see Capsule Corp. standing out amongst the other dome shaped buildings, an architectural approach that had come to be a tradition of West City. He knew the exact layout of the building. The windows of the laboratory were flashing wildly, indicating that Dr Briefs was working on his latest invention. But that wasn't what Yamcha was paying attention to. He smiled to himself and held out his palm, concentrating his ki.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!" wailed baby Trunks, for the millionth time that day, much to the annoyance of Bulma, who was trying to do a thousand things at once.

"Oh, what is it this time, Trunks!? I've given you your bottle and your pacifier, changed your diaper, fed you three times and given you your favourite toys! What more do you want?"

But before the infant could "answer", an explosion erupted from outside the building.

"Oh no!" screamed Bulma.

"Vegeta!!!!" she yelled in panic, before frantically rushing out into the backyard.

There was smoke and debris everywhere, and a blazing pile of rubble where the gravity chamber used to be.

"Vegeta, are you okay!?" she wailed as she ran over to the smoking furnace.

But before she could get any closer, streams of blue light shone out of the gaps in the rubble, and an explosion of blue ki sent her flying back a few metres. Vegeta emerged from the destruction, a look of white rage emblazoned on his hardened face.

"WHO WOULD DARE ATTACK ME IN MY OWN HOME!!?" Vegeta boomed before spotting a smirking Yamcha hovering a few hundred feet above him.

"YOU COWARD!" he roared.

"I'm not scared of you, Vegeta! You destroyed my life and you don't even have the decency to face me! YOU'RE THE COWARD!!"

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE!! I'LL RIP YOU TO PEICES YOU LUNATIC!!"

"No Vegeta! PLEASE!!!" plead Bulma.

Vegeta pushed her out of the way, before powering up, tearing all of the grass out of the ground.

"BRING IT ON!!" screamed Yamcha as he did the same.

Vegeta blasted off the ground, launching himself at Yamcha at a frightening speed. His punch missed as Yamcha disappeared behind him, delivering a powerful knee to Vegeta's back. Vegeta lurched forwards, before attempting to elbow his opponent in the face. Yamcha ducked the blow and grabbed Vegeta's leg, hurtling him towards the ground at high velocity. Vegeta's impact with the ground caused a huge dust cloud to form.

As the dust cleared, Vegeta rose from his crater and exploded with golden energy. His hair glowed yellow and stuck up much higher than before. His eyes turned emerald green and his muscles bulged, increasing dramatically in size. Vegeta had transformed into his Ascended Super Saiyan form. Yamcha tensed. He knew that this was Vegeta at his best. If he could defeat him here, Vegeta would be crushed. His pride would be gone and he would lose the will to live. Vegeta disappeared. Yamcha couldn't feel his ki. Vegeta reappeared behind him and delivered a crushing elbow blow to his spine. Yamcha felt his back shatter as he plummeted towards the ground.

It was over. Yamcha was out of commission. Vegeta powered down before hovering to the ground. He froze in shock. His transformation had destroyed the Capsule Corp. Building. There was nothing left. How could he be so foolish? He noticed Bulma's foot sticking out from underneath a massive chunk of concrete. He ran over and lifted the rubble before throwing it to the side. It was a horrific sight. Her body had been severely burned by the energy output of his transformation and crushed by the falling debris. She was dead. Vegeta kneeled down to her and wept. She had tried to tell him to stop, but his rage had consumed him and he didn't listen. He punched the ground, sending a crack along its surface. Then a thought hit him.

"TRUNKS!!" yelled Vegeta as he ran over to the smoking debris where his son's crib used to be. His tiny body had been badly disfigured by the collapsing roof and he had died nearly instantly. Vegeta cradled Trunks' lifeless body as he stumbled around, too horrified to speak. He found Bulma's parents and they had also been crushed to pieces by the destruction. They were all dead. And Vegeta had killed them.


	3. Chapter III: Insanity

**The Ascent**

Chapter III: _Insanity_

It was all a blur for Yamcha. He kept gaining semi-consciousness and then passing out immediately from the agonising pain of his shattered spine. It seemed like an eternity had passed before he felt a hand push something small into his mouth. Yamcha used what miniscule amount of energy he had left to swallow it. He knew almost immediately that it was a senzu bean as he could feel his spine rapidly repairing itself. Yamcha's eyes opened and took a moment to adjust. There was familiar green face standing high above him.

"Piccolo?" Yamcha mumbled as he sat up.

"I rushed over here when I felt Vegeta's energy rise dramatically. Thought he might have lost the plot. Never really trusted that guy. I also faintly sensed your ki, which is not something I'm normally able to do from so far away."

"What happened? The last thing I remember was being taken out with one blow by Vegeta. Where is he now?"

"He left. And I doubt he's coming back"

"Why?"

"I have some bad news."

"Tell me. Nothing can faze me anymore."

"This might. During your fight with Vegeta, he transformed, causing a shockwave that destroyed Capsule Corp. Everyone inside was killed."

Yamcha scanned his surroundings in shock and horror. He was devastated.

"W-what about Bulma? She wasn't actually in the building. She came out to calm down Vegeta," he stumbled.

Piccolo shook his head with a look of sorrow.

Yamcha slammed his fists to the ground.

"IT'S WASN"T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN LIKE THIS!!! HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID?!!" he yelled hysterically.

"It was a lot more Vegeta's fault than yours. He could have just used his regular Super Saiyan form to take you out. But, like usual, he had to overdo it. This time, however, he suffered the consequences of his foolish actions."

"Why are you going on about Vegeta?! The person I care about more than anyone else in the world is dead as well as her entire family! Can't you show a little more compassion?!"

"It's not that big a deal. They can be wished back with the Namekian Dragonballs. They'll never forgive Vegeta though. Wishing them back won't change the fact that he killed them."

"Well, I suppose he'll be getting what he deserves."

Suddenly, both Piccolo and Yamcha sensed a surge of energy from a long way away. It was unmistakably Vegeta.

"Oh no! He's lost the plot!" said Yamcha, visibly shocked.

"Don't worry. He's just blowing off some steam. I can't feel any other energy signals," Piccolo reassured him.

"Well that's a relief."

On the other side of the world, Krillin was flying towards where he had, a little while ago, sensed Vegeta's and Yamcha's power signals. He had hadn't sensed anything in a while and was considering giving up.

"If there was a fight, it'd be over by now. Vegeta's way too strong for Yamcha. They were probably just sparring or something. I'm surprised at how much stronger Yamcha's energy signal was compared to just a few days ago though."

Before Krillin could finish his thought, he sensed Vegeta's energy surge again, but this time it was much closer to home.

"Okay, this is definitely wierd. I'm going to go and check it out."

As much as Krillin would have liked to have been, he was nowhere near as fast as the likes of Piccolo, and took him a few minutes to get there. The energy signal had come from a secluded part of the Mountain Range. There was no sign of Vegeta when he arrived. Krillin looked around. He spotted an unmoving figure sprawled on the ground. Horrified, he lowered to the ground to get a better look. It was Android 18. Her face was mutilated from repeated punching. There was wires sticking out of random areas and the places where the steel plating underneath her skin had split were bleeding profusely. Her light blonde hair was stained red. Her limbs were mangled and her torso was crushed. It was an indescribably horrific sight. She was lying in a pool of her own blood and oil. And yet, for some reason that Krillin couldn't bear to think about, Vegeta had left her alive. He had gone completely insane. She looked at Krillin. She couldn't talk because jaw was smashed to pieces. A tear formed in her only functioning eye. Krillin's mouth trembled, his eyes filled with tears. The colour drained from the Android's iris and Krillin knew she was dead.


	4. Chapter IV: Super Human

**The Ascent**

Chapter IV: _Super Human_

Krillin was cold. It must have been a 120 degree day, but Krillin had never felt more freezing, more empty, or more alone in his entire life than in that moment. He sat beside what was left of Android 18 for what seemed like an eternity. As the hours passed by, the feeling of coldness slowly died away and was replaced by burning hot rage. He had loved 18 from the moment he first saw her, and to have her taken away from him like this was much more than his fragile heart could handle. He had never felt so much bloodlust before in his life, even when Vegeta had been responsible for the slaughtering of Yamcha, Piccolo, Tien and Chiaotzu a few years previously. Krillin could feel power surging through his body as he erupted with golden energy.

Due to the powerful elemental energy within his third eye, Tien was capable of entering a deep state of meditation that not even Piccolo could achieve. He allowed himself to relax into this state the first time that he felt Vegeta's energy surge. It allowed him to tap into the binding force of all living things on Planet Earth and he was aware of Vegeta's mental state. Vegeta had lost everything he cared about and even though they could be brought back to life, they would never accept Vegeta back into their lives, especially not Bulma. Due to all the good that had diluted his evil heart being diminished, Vegeta had returned to his old sadistic self. After the accidental murder of his family, Vegeta fled the scene and lowered his energy to the point where not even Tien could trace him. When Vegeta re-emerged he began to attack someone with a ferocious brutality that he had not demonstrated in years. Tien could sense the hatred and revenge that filled his mind and knew that, due to the lack of energy signal, it had to be Android 18 he was decimating. After spending so much time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Vegeta way outclassed 18. After he had finished with her, he left her to die and went back into low profile. After feeling this, Tien exited his meditated state.

Tien knew that he to find Vegeta before he struck again, and judging by how quickly Vegeta had flown across the entire planet, he didn't have very much time. There was only one person on Earth who could track down someone who had suppressed their power to zero, and that was Chiaotzu, with his telepathic powers. Chiaotzu had told Tien that he was off to collect wood for their fire. Tien blasted off up into the sky, desperately scanning the area for any sign of Chiaotzu, before closing his eyes and trying to feel his best friend's ki. Suddenly, Vegeta's enormous power resurfaced again in the distance. Tien didn't need Chiaotzu anymore. He knew exactly where Vegeta was. Vegeta's energy signal wasn't too far away from the camp, and it only took a few seconds to get there. Vegeta had already fled the scene. Tien noticed Chiaotzu's tiny little body lying on the ground and realised with horror what had happened. Vegeta knew about Chiaotzu's telepathic abilities and he didn't want to be tracked down because, as strong as he was, he knew that Gohan was still stronger. So he had done the only thing that someone with evil intentions would do in his situation, and eliminated the core of his problems, which in this case was Chiaotzu.

There was a small indentation on the back of Chiaotzu's neck. Vegeta had struck the area where his spine and brain connected, completely paralysing him and leaving him trapped inside his body. His heart was still beating. He wasn't dead. Not even the Namekian Dragonballs could bring someone back to life who wasn't dead. Vegeta had decided on a permanent solution. Tien's blood boiled. Seeing his friend in this state and knowing he was still conscious was more than he could bear. Tien exploded with anger, sending out a golden shockwave of energy that levelled the entire forest to a several mile radius. His muscles bulged and lightning surged around his body.

Piccolo had left Yamcha alone with his painful thoughts and had flown back to Kami's Lookout. No sooner had he got back than he felt both Tien and Krillin's energy signals explode with power almost simultaneously. It was unbelievable. Piccolo was dumbstruck. He had felt Vegeta's energy surge for a third time, and although it was definitely suspicious, he decided to think nothing of it, as he knew Vegeta would be going through hell, emotionally. But this new development not only shocked Piccolo, but also made him wonder if there was more to this situation than simply Vegeta blowing off steam. Piccolo decided to meditate to find answers.

Yamcha had also felt the inexplicable rise in power from Tien and Krillin. Yamcha was in awe and furious at the same time. He had nearly killed himself trying to find a new level of power after having an epiphany that made everything so simple. But now nothing made any sense at all. Yamcha was already depressed to the point of wanting to destroy someone else's life just a few hours ago. He thought he was doing himself justice, but now things were a million times worse than they were to begin with. Both Krillin and Tien had far surpassed him in power without lifting so much as a finger and Bulma, the woman he loved, and her entire family were dead. Yamcha's anger had reached its peak. He couldn't take it anymore. Yamcha yelled, louder than he had ever yelled in his life. His voice echoed hundreds of miles. The sky darkened and rain began blasting down. Lightning struck and thunder rumbled. Yamcha surged with power as his skin obtained a golden hue, and the energy that flowed from his body overwhelmed the darkness surrounding him.


	5. Chapter V: Power Play

**The Ascent**

Chapter V: _Power Play_

Vegeta was free. Free of the influence of goodness that repressed his evil soul. He had never felt better in his life. Bulma and the brat had been distractions that had stopped him from carrying out his plan. There was something about the atmosphere of Planet Earth that blurred his senses. The bonds he had developed had prevented him from thinking straight. He had not converted. The evil in him had simply been coated with goodie-goodieness. The same thing had happened to others. Piccolo was a prime example. He was a being of pure evil and yet somehow he became aligned with Kakarott, the one person he was created by his father to kill. Piccolo had formed a bond with Kakarott's brat, Gohan, and the evil that was his entire being was greatly repressed, but not diminished. Tien was another; he came from a race of killer triclops that possessed incredible elemental energy. Vegeta was the only one that still knew this.

**(The following is the back story of Tienshinhan, and not strictly a part of the fan fiction)**

_Tienshinhan was born on the planet of Triclonia, a once lush and beautiful world. But at an unknown point in the planet's history, the Triclops had turned viciously evil. They had exterminated all other life on the planet (animals, trees, plants etc.) and built cities from rock and mud. They trained excessively and focused their dark energy, attaining incredible strength and ki control. They often fought with nearby worlds, annihilating their opposition with ease and then destroying their planets. Many of these planets were on the demand for Frieza to sell to the highest bidder, and their destruction had put a stint in his business plans. _

_Frieza had scanned the planet and saw that it was populated with very powerful fighters. He contacted the Saiyans and decided it was a job for them, as they were more expendable and more powerful than his own army, including most of his elite. When the Saiyans had attempted to exterminate the Triclops and sell their planet, Vegeta was only an infant when the war had begun, and as the Prince, he did not take part in it. The Triclops were very skilled and powerful fighters, and rivalled many of the Saiyan elite. The battle raged for over a decade and eventually nearly all of the Saiyans were dead, as there were no moons on Triclonia (The Triclops had destroyed them for fun millennia ago) and therefore no means to transform (the technology for artificial moons had not been developed yet)._

_Frieza had millions of his own soldiers on standby and the Triclops were down to the hundreds after losing nearly all of their number in the fight against the Saiyans. But still, the Triclops fought valiantly, eliminating his entire low class army that consisted of over three million soldiers. Frieza decided to send in his five thousand-man elite. The battle was vicious, and afterwards, only thirty Triclops remained. Frieza was getting furious; no one had ever put up such a fight against his forces. He resolved to summon the Ginyu Force to finish the job. At the time, the Ginyu force had different members. Captain Ginyu was the only one that survived. His team managed to wipe out all but two of the Triclops until they were finally killed off. _

_The two that remained were Emperor Braccushinhan, and his only child, Tienshinhan. Captain Ginyu tried to fight Braccushinhan, but was brutally beaten and sent back to Frieza with the message to withdraw from the war, as both sides had expended all of their fighters. Frieza was shocked that someone could so easily defeat Captain Ginyu. He decided to finish Braccushinhan himself. Although Braccushinhan fought valiantly, he was no match for Frieza and was killed in cold blood when Frieza transformed. Braccushinhan knew he would die, and he had sent his son to Planet Earth, a randomly selected planet, in the hope that he would conquer it and restore honour to the Triclops race._

**(Fan fiction resumes here)**

Looking back on this ordeal, Vegeta knew that it was barely a dent in Frieza's army, as his empire stretched over hundreds of planets, but he couldn't help but wonder what kind of strange events had led to Tien becoming so much weaker and more peaceful than he should have been. Vegeta's calculating decisions and lethal executions of his plans had led to Tien being able to unlock the power that had been suppressed within him for so long, but in the end it was merely a hunch. He could sense the powerful psychic energy from Chiaotzu and could see the glazed look in Tien's eyes.

Vegeta was unsure as to what Chiaotzu's intentions were, but with him no longer a problem, it didn't really matter. Vegeta had sensed Tien explode with power, and knew that it wasn't because of the pain of the loss of his "best friend". Vegeta hadn't killed Chiaotzu for a reason. If he did, Chiaotzu would have been allowed to keep his body in the afterlife, and his control over Tien would continue. But with him in this state, he was essentially a vegetable, unable to think or move. Tien's transformation was caused by all of the evil rushing back into his soul, overloading his body and forcing him to improve it greatly.

Vegeta was standing on the edge of a rocky cliff face. His eyes were closed. He was searching for answers to the problems that were stopping his plan from going into motion. Piccolo had no doubt contacted Gohan telepathically to tell him of the situation. Gohan would have already been searching for Vegeta to find out why he had raised his power level. With Piccolo's information, Gohan would be even more determined. He had probably already discovered the bodies of Bulma and her family. He probably presumed it was an accident, as it was. But when he came across the remains of Android, he would start to realise that something horrible had happened. He would most likely come to the conclusion that Vegeta had snapped due to the loss of his family, and destroyed Android 18 as an act of blind vengeance, in retaliation to his previous humiliation at her hands.

What Gohan probably hadn't yet discovered was that it was in fact all a carefully thought out and executed plan on Vegeta's part. He would realise that Vegeta was up to something sinister when he found Chiaotzu, but he would not know the extent of what was about to be set in motion. The trouble was Vegeta had not expected to be able to begin this phase so soon. When that fool Yamcha had provoked him into accidentally murdering his family, he had sped up a process that Vegeta had not anticipated that he would be capable of completing until he could able summon the will power to kill them himself, and on purpose.

Vegeta had started planning his scheme for World Domination almost immediately after Frieza was defeated on Namek. While Garlic Junior was terrorising the Earth (Vegeta was unaware of this) he had gone out on a spaceship on what he said was a mission to find Goku. In actual fact, it was a recruitment mission. He had convinced a large number of the Frieza's Planet Trade Organisation to align with him, and stay on standby until he summoned them. Those that refused were obliterated, leaving him with control of just over fifty planets, and millions upon millions of soldiers. Once he had declared himself Emperor, and appointed Commanders and Generals to run the operations in his absence, he returned to Earth to use the Capsule Corporation's technology in order to attain the level of Super Saiyan.

When Frieza arrived on Earth, Vegeta realised that both he and his father were unaware of Vegeta's dealings with Frieza's Empire, as Frieza had been discovered and rebuilt in a ship belonging to King Cold's branch of The Planet Trade Organisation, not Frieza's. Needless to say, this problem was fixed when Trunks killed both tyrants effortlessly. Whilst training for the Androids, Vegeta had once again gone into space, this time recruiting much of King Cold's army, an endeavour that allowed him complete power over a further three-hundred planets. This was a much easier task than his previous mission, as he was a Super Saiyan and could get the job done a lot faster.

Now here he was, more power than he had ever dreamed of having flowing through his veins. He had not anticipated Krillin and Yamcha transforming as well as Tien, but they were still only a moderate inconvenience at best. And yet, there was someone out there who could kill him effortlessly, a mere child who had just recently toppled a creature that Vegeta was convinced was all but invincible. It was maddening. Vegeta yelled in frustration as he fired a two-handed ki blast, turning the mountain range before him into a desert with a fiery explosion. Almost as soon as the energy had left his hands, Vegeta realised he had made a mistake. Gohan's energy signal was closing in fast. He had only seconds to think of a plan. And then it hit him. Of course! How he could be so foolish to not think of it before. Vegeta laughed maniacally to himself.

As soon as Gohan touched down behind him, Vegeta had already figured out all the details.

"Why did you do it, Vegeta? Why did you kill them?" Gohan asked, with an eerily calm voice.

"Because I was never on your side. They were all my enemies."

"Even Bulma and Trunks?" Gohan took a step forwards.

"Yes. Even them."

"They were your family, Vegeta."

"THEY WERE DISTRACTIONS!"

"I can't believe you Vegeta. You sicken me. I thought you had changed. But I guess some people never do."

"Nobody ever does."

"You're wrong."

"I'm right. But I am afraid you won't be around to see why."

"What are you talking about, Vegeta?"

"I'm taking over Earth, Gohan. I am going to kill every last one of you; men, women and children, and Piccolo and Tien will stand by my side as I do it."

"They would never return to their evil ways."

"Tien already has. I'm working on Piccolo."

"I won't let you do it, Vegeta. I'm going to kill you."

"My power has grown exponentially since the fight with Cell. It rivals your own," Vegeta lied.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because If I'm not bluffing, our fight will destroy this world and you know it."

"Whatever happens, I am still going to kill you. But what do you propose?"

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"But haven't you already spent two years in there?"

"No. The second time, I came out a few days before my session was up, which leaves us with more than enough time."

"That's right. I remember. You came out sulking because you couldn't get to the next level, no matter how hard you tried."

Vegeta winced.

"So is it a deal, Gohan?"

"Hang on, why do you care if our fight destroys the world?"

"Because I plan to take it over, remember?"

"It's not going to happen, Vegeta. We'll fight in the Time Chamber of you think it'll somehow improve your chances of winning, but you won't succeed, I guarantee it."

"We'll see," Vegeta smirked, and they blasted off towards the lookout.


	6. Chapter VI: Monster

**The Ascent**

Chapter VI: _Monster_

As the door of Android 12's chamber opened, so did the eyes of Dr Gero's secret killing machine. The psychotic doctor had created him to kill Goku, assist Cell in his absorption of 17 and 18 and then fuse with Cell's perfect form to create a being of unfathomable destructive power. However, 12 wasn't quite as powerful as Perfect Cell according to his calculations. Gero's estimation for Cell's full power was roughly 120,000,000 and Android 12 had been created with a power level of 100,000,000. He would have to convince Cell to fuse with him using a method other than brute strength. He sat up from his chamber and scanned his surroundings. The lab had been destroyed. The dial on 12's chamber indicated that the lab had been reduced to rubble nearly three weeks prior as his chamber had been running on backup power for over 20 days. It had finally died and 12 was automatically activated. The basement below ground was also destroyed and so was Larvae Cell which meant that 12 was awakened twenty years premature.

12 ascended high into the sky and scanned the planet. Two large power levels belonging to Gohan and Vegeta were heading towards Kami's Lookout, a location that had been programmed into 12's memory. Two more significant power levels were already there. They belonged to Piccolo and Kami. 12 found it difficult to get a separate reading on the two for some strange reason. Tien, Yamcha and Krillin's energy signals were scattered around different parts of the world. With no Cell and no Goku, 12 decided to destroy the remaining Z fighters, as that was his third priority. The readings he had taken of their power levels were much higher than the ones Gero had taken and programmed into him. Deciding to take the safest route, he headed for Krillin first.

Tien could feel all of the grogginess that he been subject to for years disappearing and being replaced with pure hatred. Something about the realisation of Chiaotzu being a prisoner in his own body had knocked a screw loose in Tien's conscious. He no longer cared about anyone or anything. Not even Chiaotzu. The golden aura that flowed from him was a fitting outward manifestation of the malice that filled his heart. Tien could feel Yamcha and Krillin going through similar changes, although to a lesser extent. He decided it might be fun to fight and try to kill them. Yamcha was far stronger than Tien prior to their transformation, but Tien's breakout from his own blurred conscious and newfound ability to think straight without the influence of Chiaotzu had caused his power to skyrocket. He had the edge over Yamcha for sure. Krillin on the other hand, would be easy pickings. Too easy. He decided to head to the lookout and kill Dende. That way, no one would be able to undo his damage once he inflicted it.

As Vegeta touched down with Gohan at the lookout, he realised that Piccolo was also there, and had been suppressing his power during their approach. The Super Namek was about to speak before Vegeta interrupted him.

"No questions, Namek! I am here to fight with Gohan in the chamber and I have no desire to answer your pathetic queries."

"Actually, I was about to tell you to kiss your ass goodbye."

"Oh, don't worry about me, I'm not going anywhere."

Gohan was walking purposefully to the chamber door. Both Piccolo and Vegeta could sense his anger and decided to stop bickering before he ripped one of their heads off. Mr Popo opened the door and Gohan stepped through. To the surprise and shock of everyone, Vegeta sped forwards at a frightening speed and delivered a powerful kick to Gohan's lower back that sent him flying into the time chamber. Vegeta then stepped back, launching a powerful ki blast and destroying the entire palace. Gohan lept up and turned around. To his horror, the door was open and all that lay on the other side was endless white. Vegeta had tricked him. Gohan exploded with a fiery rage and the building around him crumbled and collapsed.

As Piccolo watched in disbelieving silence, Vegeta began laugh maniacally and descended to the ground. He pointed his finger at Mr Popo and vaporised the terrified genie.

"Now no one can ever rebuild it! GWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" he yelled, triumphantly.

"It's all coming back to you, isn't it Namek?" Vegeta asked, as Dende stared on in horror.

"What do you mean? What's coming ba..." Piccolo grabbed his face and collapsed to the ground, black smoke pouring out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. After a few minutes it ceased, and Piccolo stood up. He was numb. Gohan was gone forever. Not even the Dragonballs could break the dimensional barrier. The strangest thing was, was that Piccolo wasn't sad. Nor was he angry. He could feel all of the emotion that Gohan had awakened in him all those years ago fading away. He was reverting back into his true self. Kami was screaming inside of him as the blackness of evil overwhelmed his pure soul. Kami was no longer influencing him. Only his wisdom and power remained. Piccolo began to feel good, really good.

"Welcome back," Vegeta grinned maliciously.

"I feel great!" Piccolo clenched his fists and felt the power surging through his body.

"You're fighting strength just increased dramatically. Impressive..."

"But you're still stronger, aren't you, Vegeta? I can sense it."

"Afraid so, Namek. But I would be happy if you stood by my side during my conquest of Earth, and eventually, the Universe."

"Ha! No way in hell!"

"Don't make a hasty decision. If you are not aligned with me, you are my enemy. If you are my enemy, I will kill you," said Vegeta, a terrifying chill in his voice.

"What's in it for me?"

"Think of it as a temporary alliance. Once the Universe is ours, we can go our separate ways and do as we please."

"I like that idea, but how can I be sure you won't just cheap shot me after you're done with me."

"If you decide to become my enemy, I will kill you. You have my word and I have no intention of proving myself any further," said Vegeta, his mind made up.

Piccolo grunted. At that moment, Tien touched down beside them. He had a reddish tinge to his skin and veins popping out all over his body. His aura was raging gold and his eyes were bloodshot. Instead of the usual sapphire green colour of a super transformation, his eyes were a bright crimson red and his third eye was now a glowing white oval with no pupil present.

"Ahhhh, I've been expecting you, Tien," said Vegeta, smirking.

"You've been expecting me!? Why!? Answer me!?"

"Isn't it obvious? You've changed. All three of us have. Well, to be more accurate, we've been reborn. All of the distractions that stopped us from being the ruthless killers that we were born to be are now gone. Let us rejoice in our newfound abilit..."

"Hang on, why do I need either of you? As of now, I only look out for number one!" interrupted Tien.

"We are all in the same boat. I know neither of you care for anyone but yourselves but that's not why we're in this. We all want to be the best. And that we shall. The Dragonballs are the key. Not the crummy Earth rip offs, but the real deal. The Namekian ones. They will grant us three wishes. We can all wish for immortality."

"I still don't trust you Vegeta."

"You don't need to. You can either take a risk with the possibility of immortality or I can end your miserable life right now. It's your call."

"You're not scaring me into this Vegeta! Immortality would be very useful to me and that is the ONLY reason I'm going with you! Got it?!"

"Tell yourself whatever it takes. I couldn't care less."

Tien gave Vegeta a deadly look that would make even the bravest of men crap themselves. But Vegeta simply smiled. After a long silence, Piccolo spoke up;

"Sounds like a plan. If we split up, we'll find the Dragonballs much faster. But there's still one problem. How do we get to Namek?"

"That is a problem," admitted Vegeta.

"The dragon radar would have been destroyed when Capsule Corp was blown apart. So that makes two problems," said Piccolo.

"No, just the one," said Tien.

"What do you mean?"

"I can tap into the binding force of any planet I'm on using the powerful elemental energy of my third eye. Some Namekians also possess this ability, although they access it through different means. They are able to create the Dragonballs on this principle. My similar abilities mean I can double as a sort of human dragon radar."

"Well than why haven't you used that ability to help find the Dragonballs in the past?" asked Vegeta.

"When I transformed, I made many realisations about my abilities. The most obvious was that I could sense the location of the Earth's Dragonballs, even though they are currently nothing but stones."

"How accurately could you locate them?"

"To about a 1 mile radius, but it's improving with time."

"Good. That will be most useful."

At that moment, an enormous spaceship descended upon the lookout. As it landed, it crushed trees and the remaining chunks of building.

"Ahh yes, they've answered my call in impressive time," said Vegeta, an evil grin spread across his face. Piccolo and Tien were lost for words as the door opened and a massive staircase lowered to the ground. After a few moments of silence, an army of soldiers came rushing out in partnered formation. They gathered in front of the three warriors. From the centre of the crowd, a tough looking general with an eyepatch, scouter and spiky red hair emerged. His face was scarred and he looked to be a veteran of many battles.

"General Abrigot, Commanding fleet of the Vegeta Empire."


	7. Chapter VII: Conquest

**The Ascent**

Chapter 7: _Conquest_

General Abrigot saluted Vegeta. Vegeta nodded, before speaking up;

"How many ships are coming?"

"The entire 57th fleet, consisting of over 3,000 ships my lord."

"Good. What is your rank and power level, soldier?"

"5th rank General under Frieza's command. Power level 15,000"

"Your now under my command and shall address yourself accordingly. I'm demoting you to 4th rank for your insolence."

General Abrigot screwed up his face in annoyance, but didn't dare argue back. Instead, he continued to brief Vegeta;

"The Command Ship has reported 1 hour ahead of duty for your convenience. The rest of the fleet will arrive shortly."

"Yes, that was a good idea. There is nowhere enough space on the lookout for an entire fleet. Are you the highest ranking official?"

"Yes, my lord. I am in charge of the Command Ship."

"Tell your pilots to move the ship to a desert at these co-ordinates."

Vegeta raised is finger and used a weak ki beam to etch the co-ordinates into Abrigot's forehead while the General screamed in pain.

"Contact the rest of the fleet and have them land there as well," Vegeta smirked.

"Y-yes m-my l-lord," stuttered the terrified General as he stumbled back to the ship.

The platoon of troops stared at Vegeta in horror, visibly shocked that someone could so easily make a highly respected General like Abrigot seem like a pathetic weakling.

"All of you," said Vegeta, addressing the platoon.

"I'm giving you a genocide mission. We need to scare the Humans into obedience. I want you to massacre the entire child population. Leave no one that looks under the age of eighteen alive. Understood?" said Vegeta, a crazed look in his eye and his mouth practically foaming.

The troops nodded reluctantly and blasted off. A few of them stayed behind.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" boomed Vegeta.

"I didn't sign up for no kiddie-killing. That's just wrong!" one of them said.

Vegeta laughed maniacally. He held out his hand and vaporised them. The Command Ship took off.

"What the holy-high hell is going on?" asked Piccolo, a look of confusion on his face.

"Yeah, since when were you the new Frieza?"

"Well, you could say it's a little project that I've been working on for a while."

"Amazing, would never have picked you to go down that path. Why do we even need an army?" asked Tien.

"It's a useful tool for spreading fear. If we just announced that we were taking over the world, no one would buy it. They would refuse to co-operate and we would have to kill them all, which would defeat the purpose of ruling the world."

"Makes sense, I guess," said Piccolo.

Krillin was meditating. All the anger he had built up over the gruesome death of Android 18 needed to be released. He was starting to get calmer and his meditation was helping him understand his new abilities. He opened his eyes and stood up. When he had transformed before, he had kept screaming and powering up until he had burnt himself out and collapsed unconscious. He had tried a few more times to transform, but all of his efforts were unsuccessful. Now that he had relaxed his mind as his body, he was going to make another attempt. He clenched his fists and yelled, allowing his energy to build up until he was forced to let it explode. As he reached the breaking point, he felt the golden energy surge from his body. But it was too much for him to control and he collapsed to his knees, the golden aura disappearing.

"So close," he thought to himself.

At that moment, a huge figure descended to the ground. It was definitely one of Dr Gero's creations. He resembled Android 16; only his hair was bright red instead of orange and stuck up much higher like. His armour was silver rather than green, and the shoulder guards pointed out like a Saiyan's. His skin was as white as Chiaotzu's. But the thing that scared Krillin the most was his eyes. They glowed red.

Android 12 examined his opponent. Krillin fit the physical description perfectly. But his power level was much higher than it should have been. Gero had given Android 12 an estimation of 300,000. But Krillin was currently at 1,000,000. It made no sense. Although, aside from being an annoying miscalculation, it really made no difference. 12 would destroy him with ease. He held out his palm and fired a shockwave that ripped into Krillin's body and tore up his clothes. He was sent rolling back and landed on his face.

Krillin couldn't believe it. He hadn't even seen it coming. It felt like every bone in his body was broken. He was about to give up and slip into unconsciousness, but then he saw a vision of Android 18's beautiful face. He looked into her eyes and it felt as if she was looking back into his. Suddenly, a knee slammed into the side of her head, sending her crumpling to the ground. Blood was pouring out of her crushed ear. It was Vegeta. He started laughing. That crazed, evil laugh. He wouldn't get away with it. Krillin would NEVER let him get away with. The determined warrior pulled himself to his knees. All he could picture in his mind was Vegeta smashing the lifeless body of Android 18, over and over and over again. Krillin exploded with golden rage, much to the visible surprise of Android 12.

12 couldn't believe what he was seeing. Krillin's power level was skyrocketing. 2,000,000...6,000,000...10,000,000. He was going through physical changes as well. His muscles were bulking up. His eyebrows were glowing gold. His eyes were an emerald shade of green. He finally maxed out at 22,000,000. Android 12 made a mental note of this impressive transformation. It was definitely something worth investigating further. As of now, however, the ex-monk was still no match for him. Krillin charged at Android 12, unleashing a flurry of punches. 12 didn't even bother blocking as they weren't enough to make him flinch. Realising it would take a lot more to damage his opponent, Krillin charged up a powerful kick, before yelling at the top of his lungs and delivering to the side of 12's head.

The Android still wouldn't flinch. Krillin was beside himself. How could he be so powerful? It was like Cell all over again. He had put all of his energy into that kick. Krillin retreated a few metres and regained his composure. He held up his hand with his palm facing towards the sky. A ring of golden energy formed around his arm and rose up above his hand before expanding into a large spinning disk.

"SUPER DESTRUCTO DISK!!!" yelled Krillin as he threw it at his opponent as hard as he could.

Android 12 analysed the technique. It was a slicing attack. Very powerful. He would have to stop this one. He widened his eyes and fired two laser-eye beams, disintegrating the disk in mid-air. He held out his fist towards his Krillin.

"MEGA PUNCH!"

His fist separated from his arm and launched at his opponent at a speed so fast that it visibly broke the sound barrier. Krillin had no time to react. He was it square in the chest with incredible stopping power. The impact must have stopped his heart dead. He collapsed to the ground.

Krillin couldn't breathe. The pain was tremendous. But he wasn't giving up. He would never give up. He forced himself to his feet. There was no way he could beat this android. That much was obvious. He had to retreat but he knew the android wouldn't let him. He slowly ascended into the sky, still grasping his heart. Krillin placed his hands in front of his face with his fingers outstretched. The android looked at him, those red eyes glowing with bloodlust.

"SOLAR FLARE!!!" he screamed. As the android grabbed his face and stumbled backwards, Krillin put two fingers to his forehead.

"Goku tried to teach me this in the lead up to the Cell Games but I never really got the hang of it. Please God; I need this to work now because I have no energy to fly with."

Krillin braced himself.

"INSTANT TRANSMISSION!!"


	8. Chapter VIII: Genocide

**The Ascent**

Chapter 8: _Genocide_

The two-hundred or so troops that Vegeta had dispatched to wipe out Earth's youth had split up into groups of ten and headed for all major cities. They used their scouters to pick up large groups of tiny power levels. The squad led by Captain Tui (a weaker member of the race that Cui belonged to) was assigned to West City. The bustling townwas still undergoing repairs to the damage to the surrounding area of Capsule Corp, which had mysteriously exploded the previous day. The squad touched down in the middle of Main Street, the central shopping district of West City. Many of the thousands of people that had witnessed their landing decided to gather in front of them, wondering what was going on. Finding their obliviousness amusing, Tui smiled, before beckoning his troops with a hand signal.

"Blasters at the ready!" he yelled. The soldiers pointed their wrist blasters at the crowd of people, who started to scream and run away.

"Kneel!" The soldiers dropped to one knee to improve their accuracy.

"FIRE!" Tui yelled. Most of the scared people had momentarily thought themselves lucky when the firing had ceased and they had not been hit, but for the parents that had been tugging their children along by the arm, the world dipped into a state of cold grey. They could literally feel the powerful blasts ripping into the flesh of their beloved offspring. Some parents had babies, and were pushed back by the shockwave as their prams were obliterated. In a few seconds it was over, and the squad moved on before the hysterical outcry ensued.

Yamcha had been in seclusion in the wilderness, trying to comprehend the radical series of events that had occurred in the last few hours. He was attempting to control his new Super Human abilities, so that he could do something about the unbelievable things that were happening in the world around him. He was finally starting to get the hang of it, when Krillin appeared in front of him. He was in a bad state. Yamcha rushed over to him.

"Hey man, how did you get here? I didn't even sense you coming. And what happened to you?"

"Instant transmission. Goku taught me. Listen, there's another Android. Insanely powerful. I tried to fight him, but as you can see, he completely trashed me."

"But you transformed like me, didn't you?"

"It wasn't enough," Krillin said, before coughing up some blood.

"Uh-oh. Here, have a senzu bean. I picked some up from Korin after my fight with Vegeta. You know, because I was going to try to fight him again."

As Krillin ate the bean, Yamcha explained how Vegeta accidentally killed Bulma and Trunks.

"Oh my god. That's what drove him insane. That's why he went ballistic and killed Andr..." The mere thought of 18's mutilated body had been a nightmarish reminder to Krillin and he couldn't finish his sentence.

"It's okay, pal. I couldn't begin to imagine the pain that that must have put you through. But hey, we're Super Humans now and a whole lot closer to being able to avenge our losses."

"Yeah, you're right, but there's something else that's worrying me."

"What's that?"

"It's Tien and Piccolo. Have you sensed their energy signals? They're with Vegeta. And they've changed; their powers are almost as horrible as his."

"I know. I've sensed the whole thing. Vegeta must have manipulated them into returning to their evil ways somehow."

"Man, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know. What about this Android you mentioned?"

"Oh no, I completely forgot! It's probably hot on my tail! We've got to move!"

"No offense Krillin, but I was a whole lot stronger than you before we transformed, and now that we're Super Humans, I'm still stronger. I think that with my help, you could take this guy."

"No! This new Android makes the other ones look pathetic! It's insane! That thing would destroy us!"

"What? How strong are we talking? There's no way it could be worse than Cell!"

Krillin said nothing.

"Y-you mean it's as powerful as Cell?"

"I don't know, possibly. Androids don't have energy signals so there's no way to know for sure. But he's way up there, I can tell you right now."

"W-we're doomed!"

"No, there's still Gohan!"

"I'm not so sure, Krillin."

"What! What do you mean?"

"I sensed his power level disappear completely at Kami's lookout. It's been a few hours since then and he hasn't resurfaced. Vegeta must have defeated him somehow."

"But that's impossible."

"Well if someone as strong as Vegeta could get a lucky shot in, anything could happen."

"I know he's insanely strong, but we're talking about the same kid who trashed Dr Gero's ultimate creation. Vegeta should have been outclassed by Gohan the same way Cell was."

"Well, anyway, that's not the immediate problem. You seem to be absolutely sure that we stand no chance against this new Android, so I vote that we high-tail it out of here, at least for now."

"Let's go to Master Roshi's island and think up a plan."

"Okay, Krillin. Good idea."

Android 12 had tracked Krillin's seemingly impossible movement. The diminutive monk had travelled from one side of Earth to the other almost instantaneously. According to his sensors, Krillin had met up with Yamcha and had had his energy restored. The two were now travelling south at a reasonably high speed and 12 thought it would be more efficient to eliminate the closer Z fighters first. He scanned the planet and found that there were currently three very strong energy signals belonging to Vegeta, Piccolo and Tienshinhan located at Kami's Lookout. At that moment, Android 12 detected a vessel containing in excess of two-hundred energy signals descend upon their location. They were all weak, but still far stronger than that of an average human. For a few minutes nothing happened, and then some of the energy signals disappeared, while the rest split off into random directions, seemingly heading for Earth's major cities. Android 12 decided to intercept one of the groups and find out what was occurring.

Goku had been sensing everything that was happening on Earth through King Kai. They were standing on Snake Way and the powerful Saiyan was starting to lose his cool.

"Nooooo...Vegeta! How could you do this? I thought you were better than this!"

"Goku, you have to remember that Saiyans are evil by nature. I never trusted Vegeta, not once. And, like always, it looks like I was right," said King Kai.

"Yeah, but why? Why would he pretend to have changed his ways? He even married and had a kid!"

"He must have some horrible plan up his sleeve."

"Piccolo and Tien, too! There must be some outside force driving them to return to their evil ways."

"No, not this time Goku. They're doing it of their own accord."

"Grrrr...This is too horrible! Too many people have died! And now more are dying! I CAN'T SIT HERE WHILE THIS IS HAPPENING AND DO NOTHING!!"

"Goku, there's nothing that you _can _do."

Goku put two fingers to his head.

"NO! If you interfere with the living world while you're dead, you'll create a passageway between the two dimensions! ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE!..LITERALLY!"

Goku trembled for a few seconds and then lowered his fingers. A tear formed in his eye.

"I'm sorry Goku, but it's up to what's left of Earth's forces to deal with this one."

"I know this is selfish, but that's not what's worrying me the most."

"Then what is?"

"It's Gohan. I can't feel him at all."

King Kai raised his antennae for a few seconds and concentrated.

"That's strange, he doesn't appear to be anywhere in this realm of existence."

"Does that mean he's dead?"

"No, I'd be able to find his soul if he was dead."

"T-then where is he?"

King Kai said nothing, but Goku was determined. He thought and thought, and then it hit him.

"I got it! He's in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber"

"But Goku, unless the gateway to that dimension was destroyed, I should still be able to feel his presence."

Goku looked at King Kai, his face hardened with despair and determination.

"Oh Goku, it was Vegeta, wasn't it?"

"Yes, King Kai. I'm fairly sure it was."

"Well, I'm sorry, but the fact remains, there's nothing you can do from here."

"There is one thing. But I need to get into contact with my friends."

The squadron led by Captain Aronge was fast approaching East City. Aronge was a fifty year veteran of the Planet Trade Organisation. He had many times been offered the position of General due to his exceedingly high power level of 17,000 and brilliant tactical mind, but he always turned down the opportunity as he preferred to be on the frontlines. He had never once complained about the missions that were assigned to him, but often found them to be repulsive and unnecessary. This current task was about the worst he had ever had to deal with. He had already decided that his squadron were to get their hands dirty, but not him personally. This was the only way he could ease his conscience. Aronge was one of the few men amongst Frieza's (or Vegeta's) ranks capable of sensing power levels without the aid of a scouter, a trait that was invaluable on most missions. As they flew over a mountain range, something appeared in the distance.

"Hey Captain Aronge, what's that?"

"I don't know, but it's getting bigger, like it's coming towards us."

Aronge couldn't sense a power level from it, so it definitely wasn't a person. Suddenly, the object disappeared. Despite not being able to make sense of what was happening, Aronge knew instinctively that something was wrong.

"Men, keep your guard up. I've got a bad feeling about th..." Before he could finish his sentence, the five soldiers on his left side were vaporised with a blinding red flash.

"WHAT? WHAT WAS..." no sooner than he had noticed the first blast, a second one enveloped the four troops to his right.

Aronge was all alone; and with no clue has to what had just happened. Before he had time to react, a huge man appeared before him. He had a red Mohawk that stuck up a few inches from his head and metal armour that shined silver in the sunlight. His skin was unnaturally white and his horrifying eyes glowed red, striking fear into the heart of Aronge. He had no life force. He couldn't be real.

"W-who are you?"

"I am Android 12, the twelfth creation of Dr Gero."

"What do you want from me?"

"I want to know what your purpose is in travelling to the Earth's major cities. Also, I want to know what your affiliation is with Vegeta, Piccolo and Tienshinhan."

"Well Vegeta is the new Emperor of the Planet Trade Organisation after the downfall of the Cold family. Although, I doubt he has much interest in the trade of planets. I don't know who the other two people you mentioned are, but I guess you must be talking about those two monstrously powerful guys that were with Emperor Vegeta. Vegeta's power is mind-boggling; it makes Frieza's seem like nothing."

"And what of my first query?"

"We have orders to annihilate the child population of this planet, so we decided to head to the big cities first."

"Why?"

"Uh, because that's where most of the people are."

"I meant why does Vegeta want the children gone?"

Aronge twitched.

"I honestly have no idea."

Android 12 scanned his facial patterns and determined that he was not lying.

"That is all the information I need. I no longer have any use for you."

There was a bright flash as two red beams shot from 12's eyes, incinerating Aronge.

Vegeta was "redecorating" Kami's palace. The inside of the floating lookout was having any rooms that he deemed to be "useless" destroyed via finger blast. He was doing it methodically; walking down each corridor in order and kicking the doors open one by one. He wasn't expecting the rest of the fleet to arrive for another hour, and thought this was useful way to pass the time. Vegeta was well aware of Yamcha and Krillin, and had sent Piccolo and Tien to deal with them, knowing that a mission like that would improve their loyalty to him.

Master Roshi had been enjoying a nice sunbathe, a fruity cocktail and a perusal of his latest subscriptions to some pornographic magazines. The atmosphere was instantaneously ruined as two bright golden flashes collided with the ground in front of him, sending him flying backwards off of his beach chair.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF..."

"Sorry, Master Roshi, we didn't mean to scare you," said Krillin, his emerald eyes glistening in the sunlight.

"Yamcha and Krillin? Are-are you two Super Sai..."

"We're Super _Humans_. It's a long story, but we really don't have a lot of time to explain. See, Vegeta has gone evil again, and we think he's brainwashed Piccolo and Tien into returning to their nasty former-selves as well," said Yamcha.

"Yeah, and there's a new Android. It seems impossible because Trunks and I completely destroyed Dr Gero's lab, but we think he must have come in a time machine like Cell did."

"Well, why are you here?! You're Super Humaney...whatevers now so shouldn't you be out there doing something about this?!"

"It's not that simple. Our new powers aren't enough to stop these new threats alone. We need help."

"From me?"

Even in these horrible times, Krillin couldn't help but smirk at his former-master's enthusiasm.

"No, Master, that ship sailed a long time ago," he chuckled.

"Yes...I suppose you're right, but I would do _anything_ relive my former glory," Roshi sighed.

"Listen, we know Goku said that he wants to stay dead, but we really need his help," said Krillin, his voice suddenly serious. Yamcha continued;

"We used the Earth's Dragonballs not too long ago, so it'll be a while before we can use them again. You have that Prototype spaceship of Bulma's here don't you, Master Roshi?"

"Yeah, she left it here because she didn't want to lose amongst all of her other capsules. Are you planning to go to Namek again?"

"We really don't see any other way."

"But what if you go all of the way there and Goku still refuses to be wished back."

"Wishing Goku back isn't all that we need the Dragonballs for though."

"Yeah, we also need them for..."

"_Hey Guys!"_

"Goku, is that you? Where are you? I can't see you!"

"_I'm talking to you from Otherworld."_

"Oh yeah...of course," Krillin felt stupid knowing that Goku had done the same thing a few times in the past.

"_Listen, I need you guys to wish me back to life so that we can stop Vegeta. But you need to get to Namek to do that. Do you have any kind of spaceship?"_

"Yeah, Goku, we've already got a spaceship. And we were already planning to go to Namek to wish you back."

"_Oh wow, you guys don't miss a beat. Maybe you won't need me after all," Goku joked._

"Goku, you know we're going to need a lot more than brain power to win this battle."

"_You're right, Krillin, but in dark times like these, it sometimes helps to lighten the mood."_

There was a long silence as everyone thought about the grim situation that they were in. After a while, Yamcha spoke up;

"We need to leave now, Krillin."

"I'll go and get the ship," said Roshi. He ducked inside and came back out with the capsule. He handed it to Yamcha who pressed the button on top and tossed it to the ground, where it made a hissing sound and an explosion of smoke.

The ship was a lot like the one Goku had gone to Namek in, except about two thirds the size and a lot sleeker.

"Wow, not bad!" said Krillin, clearly impressed.

"Yeah, it looks fast. Did Bulma mention anything about its speed, Master Roshi?"

"Yeah, she said it's about twice as fast as the old model."

"Amazing, Bulma. Even in death you continue to impress us..." There was a twinge of sadness in Yamcha's eyes, but now was not the time for grievances. Krillin decided to change the subject;

"So does that mean we can get to Namek in just three days?"

"Yes, Krillin, I would say so."

"Great. How do we plot a course?"

Everyone was silent.

"Maybe there's an instruction manual inside," said Yamcha, hopefully.

Suddenly, Master Roshi's house exploded, sending chunks of wood and glass scattering all over the beach and into the ocean. Yamcha, Krillin and Master Roshi instinctively took up fighting poses.

Two blurry figures could be seen behind the blazing inferno as they descended upon the island.

The three fighters could sense their energy signals and knew exactly who it was.

"Tien," said Yamcha, seething with anger.

"And Piccolo," said Krillin, the same grim look plastered on his face.

"Looks like you boys were right about those two," said Master Roshi, who, despite not showing it, was the most furious of all.

"Well...well...well, wouldn't you know it? A spaceship, that's _exactly_ what we need," said Piccolo, who was grinning with malice.

"Yeah, I'll say," Tien's eyes were bloodshot with rage. The three warriors were shocked at his appearance. They had never sensed him to be anywhere close to this evil, not even when he was a pupil under the Crane Hermit.

"What happened to you two? Can't you see that you're being brainwashed?"

"Brainwashed? Far from it! WE ARE FREE!" Piccolo disappeared and reappeared behind Krillin, delivering a roundhouse kick to his spine and sending him flying into the blazing ruins of Kame House. At the same time, Tien powered up to his super form and launched himself at Yamcha, landing a strong punch that knocked him off balance. Yamcha placed both hands behind him to break his fall and responded with a two-legged kick to Tien's jaw that sent him of his feet and soaring into the air. Yamcha landed on his feet and rocketed towards Tien ready to head butt him, but Tien dodged the blow and tried to kick Yamcha. Yamcha blocked from the side and the two began to fight evenly, landing devastating blows on each other.

Meanwhile, Piccolo was walking towards Krillin, his evil laugh overwhelming the powerful sound of the ocean. Suddenly, golden light streamed from the fire and Krillin exploded at Piccolo with a powerful flying kick to the face of the sadistic Namek. The brave monk back flipped from his attack and landed on the ground, panting. Piccolo was leaning back and appeared to be twitching from the blow. It wasn't until he leant forward that Krillin could see he was in fact laughing.

"Very good, I barely saw that one coming. Of course I could have dodged or blocked, but I wanted to see how much power you could put behind your strongest kick."

"Rrrrrr...YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING YET!" Krillin boasted, although he knew the kick was just as strong as the one he had used against that Android, and he couldn't do much better. Still, he was determined. He put his hands behind his back and began to charge the Turtle School's signature technique;

"KAAAA...MEEEEE...HAAAAAAA...MEEEEEEEE..."

Piccolo smiled and clenched his fists.

"HAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Piccolo put his left foot forward and outstretched his arm with his palm facing the wave. The blast slammed into his hand and tore at the ground beneath his feet, but Piccolo didn't budge. Krillin tried to push harder but it was no use. He let the attack fizzle out and dropped his arms, breathing heavily. Piccolo laughed and mocked him;

"HAHAHAHA!! You were expecting me to dodge it, weren't you? Don't you remember our first fight at the world tournament all of those years ago? You did the same thing then! As if I would let you get away with it a second time!" Piccolo continued laughing until the smoke cleared, before realising that Krillin wasn't there anymore.

"What? Where did he go?!"

"SUPER DESTRUCTO DISK!!"

The attack came from behind and the Namek barely had time to react. He turned around and saw that Krillin was aiming to slice him in half vertically. Piccolo dodged to the side as quickly as he could, but he wasn't quite fast enough. The disk sliced through his bicep, cutting his arm clean off. Piccolo yelled in pain as Krillin added insult to injury.

"You fool! I wouldn't try the same attack twice! Not on someone as smart as you!"

Tien and Yamcha were going all out. They were exchanging powerful blows to each other's abdomens and coughing up blood as a result. Tien dodged a follow-up punch from Yamcha and delivered a crushing elbow to the back of his neck, sending Yamcha plummeting to the ground. The Triclops began to charge up a tri-beam cannon. He could feel an incredible amount of energy flowing through his body and knew that if he didn't use restraint, this attack would punch a hole clean through the Earth. The time would come for that eventually, but not yet. He powered down slightly and launched the attack at about a third full power.

"TRI –BEAM!!"

Yamcha could hear the words from the crater he was currently at the bottom of and knew that if he didn't do something fast, he was toast. He leapt through the dust cloud into the open air and realised that there was no way to dodge the attack from where he was. But if he was going to go down, he was taking Tien with him.

"SUPER SPIRIT BALL!!"

He charged up a concentrated ball of energy with two fingers and threw it all within the space of less than a second. The ball went straight through the middle of the giant golden square of light with a 100% guaranteed chance of hitting its target.

"RRRRRAAHHH!!! YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOT!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Piccolo roared, as a new arm burst from his wound.

He teleported beside Krillin and delivered a crushing chop to the side of his neck. Krillin's aura disappeared and he crumpled to the ground unconscious. Piccolo stomped at Krillin's body, breaking as many bones as possible. Finally, he raised his hand, ready to finish off his enemy.


	9. Chapter IX: Devastation

**The Ascent**

Chapter IX: _Devastation_

Android 12 was heading towards Kami's palace. Piccolo and Tienshinhan were no longer there but he could at least eliminate Vegeta. Surely, Dr Gero had only miscalculated Krillin's power level and not the others. Vegeta shouldn't put up much of a fight. Suddenly, energy signals surged from an island to the south-east. That was where Yamcha and Krillin were last located. He scanned their signals and determined that they were currently engaged in combat with Tienshinhan and Piccolo. That made no sense. They were all on the same side. 12 decided to leave Vegeta for the moment and find out was occurring. As he flew towards the energy signals, he registered the power levels of all of four fighters. Tien was at 45,000,000 and Yamcha was at 38,000,000. How was that possible? They should only have been at 800,000 and 500,000 respectively. Krillin was fighting at his maximum of 22,000,000 and Piccolo, the most surprising of all, was at 63,000,000. Either all of the Z-warriors had gained an inexplicable amount of power in a ridiculously short amount of time, or there had been a major miscalculation on Dr Gero's part. Still, Android 12 was certain that he could eliminate all four fighters with minimal difficulty. Suddenly, Krillin's power began to rapidly decline and Yamcha and Tien's plummeted. 12 flew faster.

Piccolo had his hand raised to deliver the final blow and rid the world of the scum that was Krillin. Without warning, an enormous explosion erupted to his left side. The shockwave forced him to shield his face. That fool Tien had used some ridiculous, unnecessarily powerful attack and risked destroying the spaceship. Luckily the ship was built tough and didn't take any damage. As Piccolo was surveying the dust and waiting for it to clear, two gigantic arms wrapped around his shoulders and clamped together behind his neck.

"I'LL TEACH YOU TO DESTROY MY PROPERTY!!" roared Master Roshi, who had increased his size and buffed up his muscles to a ridiculous degree.

Piccolo laughed.

"You really think you stand a chance, old man?" he said, before effortlessly breaking the hold and turning around to face the turtle hermit.

He raised two fingers at Roshi's forehead and they began to light-up with red ki. He laughed again and was about to fire the beam, when a rock-hard fist slammed into his face, causing him to tumble along the ground and cough up blood. The fist twirled in the air from the impact, before shooting back and reconnecting with its owner's wrist.

"Graaaahh!! W-who hit me?!"

"I did," said a mechanical voice.

Piccolo stood up, his face burning with rage. His opponent resembled Android 16 but with red hair, silver armour, white skin and glowing red eyes. He supposed those dreadful eyes would terrify anyone with a conscious, but Piccolo no longer suffered such an annoying setback, and wasn't scared in the slightest. He removed his turban and threw it away. It made a loud crunch as it hit the ground. He flicked of his cape which shot into the air and plummeted into the ocean, causing an enormous splash. Piccolo strode confidently towards the Android before stopping and staring up at him.

Yamcha's body was shredded. He could barely move. His left arm was crushed beyond use and he was badly burnt all over. He dragged himself out of the crater and noticed Tien's smoking body twitching on the ground a few feet away. He had taken the full force of the Super Spirit Ball and Yamcha knew that he was down for the count. The former desert bandit was about to pass out from the pain when he noticed that Piccolo and Krillin weren't fighting anymore either. Krillin was on the ground, moaning in agony while Piccolo was staring down what looked like some kind of Android 16 knock-off, only much scarier-looking. The last thing Yamcha saw was the horrible glowing eyes of Android 12.

Android 12 looked down at his opponent. Piccolo's power level had shot up to 77,000,000 when he had removed his weighted clothing.

"Who are you? Are you an Android?" he asked; his voice raspy with fury.

"Yes. Android Number 12, to be precise."

"How is that possible? Gero's lab was completely destroyed! COMPLETELY DESTROYED!!"

"My chamber pod was made of a highly durable material and I survived the explosion."

"YEAH?! WELL YOU WON'T SURVIVE THIS ONE!!"

Piccolo had heard enough; he hopped back and fired a powerful one-handed energy attack. 12 disappeared as the blast shot off into the distance and reappeared in front of Piccolo, connecting with a powerful head butt. Piccolo grasped his head and moaned before collapsing backwards onto the ground. 12 grabbed him by the front of his gi and lifted him off the ground, but Piccolo was ready. He fired another ki blast at point blank range that enveloped the Android's head, before back-flipping a few times to create some distance.

After the smoke had cleared, it could be seen that the Android's face had taken some damage. In a few areas, the artificial skin had been burnt off and the hard metal plating underneath was visible. Piccolo began to taunt his opponent;

"You're not as untouchable as you thought, are you? HAHAHAHA!!"

As he was laughing, the skin started to rapidly reform and the singed hair grew back to its original length. For a few seconds, Piccolo was silent, before speaking up;

"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to get serious..."

Android 12 had expected Piccolo to reel back in shock at his automatic self-repair function, but the Namek only seemed to get more determined. He started to roar and the ground shook. An explosion of energy erupted from his body and his power level began to increase; 79,000,000...81,000,000...83,000,000...Android 12 couldn't believe how much more powerful he was than what his data indicated. Finally, Piccolo maxed out at 91,000,000. It was astounding; The Namek actually posed a threat. Android 12 eyed his opponent and took up a fighting stance.


End file.
